lng carrier lifecycle maintenance 2016

2016 • A supplement to LNG World Shipping

“How much data you have, how much you need to make the correct

decisions – these are two very different things”

Tage Klockars, general manager service agreements Wärtsilä, see page 12

Mapping the world’s top LNG repair yards

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04

12

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TOP LNG CARRIER LIFECYCLE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE YARDS 2015

Research: Karen Thomas, Mike Corkhill

Graphic: Richard Neighbour

© LNG World Shipping, June 2016

34repairs

Sembcorp MarineSingapore

27repairs

Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-Kom)Qatar

27repairs

Keppel ShipyardSingapore

6

20repairs

NavantiaSpain

12repairs

Malaysia Marine & Heavy Engineering (MMHE)Malaysia

repairs

Damen ShiprepairFrance

4repairs

MES-KHI Yura DockyardJapan

Shipbuilding & Repair Development Co (SRDC)Trinidad & Tobago

Badagry ShipyardNigeria

Cochin ShipyardIndia

3repairs

San Giorgio del Porto (SGdP)Italy

Chantier Naval de Marseille (CNdM) France

Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) The Bahamas

Lisnave Portugal

Oman Drydock Co Oman

Palumbo Malta Shipyard Malta

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan

MAJOR LNGC REPAIR YARDS

14repairs

Dubai DrydocksUAE


OCCASIONAL LNG CARRIER REPAIRS

PROPOSED


10

Comment3 Will condition-based maintenance reduce LNG carriers’ need for lifecycle

maintenance and repairs?

Analysis4 Will the expanded Panama Canal and new US LNG exports drive demand

in the western hemisphere for specialist LNG shiprepair yards? Karen

Thomas reports

News9 SKF Marine and Rolls-Royce unveil condition-based maintenance solutions

and DNV GL predicts how digitisation will reshape shipping innovation

Infographic 10 Our exclusive research reveals the top shipyards working to repair and

upgrade deepsea LNG carriers last year

Opinion12 LNG World Shipping asked four industry experts: what will push LNG

shipping towards condition-based maintenance?

Front cover image © Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering

2016

www.lngworldshipping.com LNG World Shipping | July/August 2016

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Meanwhile, technologies are advancing that allow data to be gathered and analysed to anticipate and prevent problems that lead ships to seek repairs and maintenance in the first place. In time, these systems will extend the lifecycles of LNG carriers’ equipment and parts and move the industry away from scheduled towards condition-based maintenance.

Industry giants Wärtsilä, Rolls-Royce and GE are racing to develop new solutions. And companies offering condition-based maintenance (CBM) software and solutions were out in force at the Posidonia exhibition in Athens this summer, showing off their wares. “The maritime industry is ready to do this,” a Swedish solution provider told LNG World Shipping sister publication Marine Electronics & Communications.

Our straw poll of CBM experts on page 12 reveals an interesting dichotomy, however.

On the one hand, our interviewees report that LNG shipowners and managers are open, as operators of some of the most sophisticated tonnage on the water, to solutions that will cut their repair and maintenance costs and improve operating efficiencies. On the other hand, however, many are daunted by the complexity of this new technology and by how much it will cost to install.

Crew, whose ability to spot and pre-empt trouble with on-board systems is so highly prized, can be particularly sceptical about technologies that threaten to replace their hard-won experience and powers of observation. “One of our biggest challenges rolling out the CBM programme was to get initial buy-in from our crew,” Exmar Ship Management admits.

Another challenge is information overload – something familiar to anyone in possession of an email account, never mind a sophisticated vessel whose systems generate hundreds of thousands of pieces of data. That means stripping away surplus material and focusing on the facts that count.

“How much data you have – how much you need to make the correct decisions – these are two very different things,” Wärtsilä concludes. LNG

A s a relatively young shipping segment – and one that deploys highly sophisticated propulsion and containment technology to deliver

potentially hazardous cargoes safely and efficiently – the LNG shipping industry prides itself on its high standards of maintenance.

Managing LNG carriers requires specialist knowledge and skills – and demand for such skills will grow as the number of ships on the water edges towards 500 and as small-scale LNG growth bring ships and crews out of the all-gas environment into mixed-use ports and beyond. The industry can only grow if it protects and defends the safety record of which it is – rightly – so proud.

Fleet growth will also boost demand for shiprepair and maintenance yards with the skills, experience and equipment to handle an ever more diverse range of LNG carriers, engine types – and non-LNG tonnage fitted with LNG-fuelled engines.

Our infographic listing the world’s top LNG shiprepair and maintenance yards on page 10 reveals a concentration of capacity in the eastern hemisphere, notably in Singapore. However, as our analysis on page 4 reveals, there are moves afoot that may dilute that concentration.

Four Atlantic Basin ventures – two of them new, greenfield projects – are positioning themselves to tap growth in the western hemisphere, in LNG carriers delivering new US export cargoes to Europe and through the Panama Canal into Asia, and in the region’s LNG-fuelled fleet.

“How much data you have – how much you need to make the correct decisions – these are two very different things”

LNG SHIPPING PONDERS SMARTER MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS

Karen Thomas, Editor


LNG carrier lifecycle maintenance supplement COMMENT | 3

4 | ANALYSIS LNG carrier lifecycle maintenance supplement

WILL US LNG EXPORTS AND NEW PANAMA CANAL ROUTE DRIVE SHIP REPAIR DEMAND WEST?

New and existing Atlantic Basin shipyards see an opportunity for LNG carrier ship repairs as the first US exports hit the market and as the expanded Panama Canal opens to larger gas ships. Karen Thomas reports

When this publication set out to map the world’s top shiprepair yards that specialise in LNG carrier lifecycle

repairs and maintenance (LCM) and to gauge how busy they were last year, our findings highlighted how much capacity and activity is concentrated east of Suez, see page .

Of a confirmed 147 LNG carrier repairs that the nine top players carried out last year, just 29 took place in yards west of Suez – 20 at the Navantia shipyards in Spain, six at Damen

Shiprepair’s site at Brest in France and three in Italy, at the San Giorgio del Porto (SGdP) shipyard near Genoa.

Asia imports more LNG than any other world region, accounting for 72 per cent of global demand, according to the most recent industry report from the International Group of LNG Importers (GIIGNL). That eastbound focus will continue, but two events this year may shift the LNG trades’ centre of gravity a little further west, which could, in

Navantia: creating a one-stop centre for LNG and LPG maintenance, repairs, refits and conversions

LNG World Shipping | July/August 2016 www.lngworldshipping.com

LNG carrier lifecycle maintenance supplement ANALYSIS | 5

turn, boost demand around the Atlantic Basin for ship repairs and maintenance.

In February, Sabine Pass LNG dispatched its first cargo, heralding a new era of US exports from the Lower 48 states. The US export projects so far confirmed and that had reached a final investment decision as of June will deliver more than 65 million tonnes a year (mta) of LNG.

Second, at the end of June, the enlarged Panama Canal handled its first larger gas carriers, opening a new trade route for LNG between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

So will these developments create new demand for LNG carrier ship repairs and maintenance in the western hemisphere – and, if so, how will the shipbuilding industry respond to that demand?

Market leaderSpanish shipyard Navantia dominates ship repairs and maintenance west of Suez from its two yards inside the Ferrol port complex in northwest Spain and a third at Cadiz in the south. Last year, it consolidated its position as the leading player repairing and maintaining LNG carriers in the Atlantic Basin, handling 20 LNG carriers and one LPG carrier.

Navantia customers include some of the biggest names in LNG shipping – Teekay LNG, NYK, BW Gas, Golar LNG, Exmar, ENGIE and Nigeria LNG – and it has a strategic alliance with UK shipping giant BP.

“Most projects undertaken last year at our Ferrol shiprepair centre were reasonably standard but some of them could easily qualify as major LNG projects,” a Navantia spokesman told LNG World Shipping.

“Repair and maintenance work last year involved not just standard LNGCs but also floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), shuttle regasification vessels (SRVs) and LNG regasification vessels (LNGRVs), and medium and large-sized LPG carriers.”

Those projects included converting an SRV to increase and optimise its LNG supply and regasification capacity and another – that lasted nearly a year – to carry out structural renewal on an LNG carrier membrane cargo containment system.

Navantia has completed a specialised and certified berth for under-gas repairs that should make it quicker and cheaper to deliver such contracts. The company and its contractors have also invested in staff and equipment specialising in LNG cargo containment systems, cryogenic equipment and other specialist technology, enabling its yards to offer more specialist services to LNG and LPG carriers.

“We continue to focus on LNG business

Spanish shipyard Navantia dominates ship repairs and maintenance west of Suez

“GBSL is ready to perform maintenance on highly sophisticated LNG dual-fuel systems” Graham Couser

development and – although we repair all types of vessels and offshore units – we keep our specialisation in everything LNG to maintain our position as the main LNG reference in the Atlantic,” the spokesman says.

“[We will continue] to cater for the growing need by LNG majors to have a proven and guaranteed one-stop centre for all their LNG and LPG maintenance, repair, refit and conversion work in Europe,” he added.

LNG-fuelled shipsNavantia has made the most of its yards’ strategic location to position itself as the go-to shipyard for LNG carriers deployed in the Atlantic Basin trades. Its closest competitors are France-based Damen Shiprepair, which handled six LNGC repair contracts last year, its Mediterranean coast compatriot Chantier Naval de Marseille and Italy's SGdP, based near Genoa.

However, they face new competition from three challengers based outside Europe that also hope to tap LNG carrier demand – two of them wholly new ventures.

Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBSL), a veteran in cruiseship repairs and refurbishment, sees an opportunity in LNG ship repairs – and particularly in LNG-fuelled vessels that are not LNG carriers. By 2025, predicts GBSL senior vice-president Graham Couser, 80 per cent of the world cruiseship fleet will employ dual-fuel engines.

“GBSL will be ready to support this revolution in the cruise industry,” Mr Couser says. “Our intention is to be the leader in the region for all repairs and maintenance of vessels using dual-fuel engines.”

Demand for such shiprepairs and maintenance will shift west, Mr Couser predicts, mirroring growth in the world cruiseship fleet, for which the Caribbean is a top destination, especially for holidaymakers from the US. That growth presents an opportunity to The Bahamas to specialise in repairing and maintaining LNG-powered ships.

“By 2019, the cruise industry is expected to grow approximately 13 per cent [compared with] 2015,” Mr Couser says, “which is approximately 25 million passengers worldwide. To meet this future expectation, GBSL is ready to perform maintenance on highly sophisticated LNG dual-fuel systems.”

GBSL already holds a GTT licence to repair membrane containment systems and has invested in an LNG clean room. Wärtsilä, BW and MAN Diesel will also train the shipyard’s engineers to operate and maintain dual-fuel engines and to work with makers of cryogenic valves and pumps to secure LNG carrier and LNG-fuel business.

However, GBSL will also target LNG carriers as they start to pick up cargoes in the US Gulf


for delivery to Atlantic Basin destinations in northern Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa and West Africa, and as the expanded Panama Canal opens to larger gas carriers. Both will increase Atlantic Basin demand for repairs to containment systems and on-board transfer systems, Mr Couser believes.

A Caribbean SingaporeAcross the Caribbean Sea, Trinidad and Tobago-based Shipbuilding and Repair Development Co (SRDC) plans to invest in LNG-carrier repairs and lifecycle maintenance.

Trinidad and Tobago, the world’s sixth-largest LNG producer and the Caribbean’s wealthiest country, wants to expand its maritime sector to diversify from oil and gas. The islands’ Atlantic LNG exported 13 mta of LNG last year, most of it to Europe and the Americas.

SRDC will invest US$500 million in a graving dock, workshops and deepwater repair berths at La Brea in southwestern Trinidad, having secured a government loan and project finance from China Exim Bank.

The project comprises two 400m wet berths that can handle Q-max carriers, a dedicated 195m wet berth and a 300m graving dock, enabling La Brea to repair up to four LNG carriers at a time. China Harbour Engineering Co (CHEC) is expected to complete construction by 2018.

SRDC chairman and chief executive Wilfred de Gannes says that a recent joint feasibility study by SRDC and the University of the West Indies Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business made a “clear” case for growth in demand for regional LNG shiprepair and maintenance – and for this new capacity to emerge outside the US.

“Existing US shipyard infrastructure, catering for building and – by extension – repairing and maintenance activities on LNG carriers is extremely limited,” Mr de Gannes says. “Only two [US] shipyards possess dry docks long enough to accommodate LNG carriers and both are currently booked well into 2018.

“It will be some time before substantial capital improvements are made to shipyards to construct docks long enough for these LNG carriers. This will put a severe constraint on their ability to carry out repairs and maintenance work, as this will have to be confined primarily to harbour work.”

La Brea has yet to name its customers but its targets include Shell LNG (T&T), which became a shareholder in Atlantic LNG two years ago after taking over Repsol’s stake, and BP, which also has an interest in the project. Shell now has a fleet of 69 LNG carriers, following its takeover of BG. BP Shipping owns seven LNG carriers and manages another.

However, Atlantic LNG production is dwindling.

Trinidad & Tobago’s gas reserves shrank by 40 per cent from 2005 to 2015. In its latest statistical review, BP estimated that the country’s reserves will support current levels of production for just eight more years.

Meanwhile, Shell’s recent pledge to divest from its maturing oil and gas markets raises questions about the company’s future commitment to Trinidad and Tobago.

Undaunted, Mr de Gannes draws inspiration from Singapore, another island state whose location and strategic thinking enable it to punch above its weight in shipping and marine services. La Brea even plans to import cheap labour to nail down its costs.

“The focus on LNG carriers being one of the main sources of shipyard revenue for the SRDC seems realistic and attainable for the next few years,” Mr de Gannes says.

“We will continue to find ways to maintain

ABOVE: Atlantic LNG exported 13 mta of LNG last year, most of it to Europe and the Americas


6 | ANALYSIS LNG carrier lifecycle maintenance supplement

competitive shipyard costs and pricing… attracting qualified, skilled labour from Venezuela… [whose] average monthly wage is among the lowest in the world, at US$30.”

Out of AfricaThe final would-be player is based across the Atlantic, at Badagry in Nigeria. Badagry Ship Repair Marine Engineering Consortium (BSMEC) plans to develop a US$1.5 billion yard in Lagos State to repair and maintain LNG carriers, very large crude carriers, drilling rigs and support vessels.

The country is a regional LNG powerhouse. Nigeria LNG (NLNG) last year exported 19.5 mta, most of it to Japan, India and South Korea, a including 12.7 million tonnes of spot and short-term cargoes. Nigeria LNG, which owns a fleet of 23 vessels, has pledged to support the project in Lagos State. Its subsidiary, Bonny Gas Transport, also has a dozen LNG carriers of its own.

Badagry, a small town off the Benin-Lagos Expressway, is to become a world-class marine hub. Container giant APM Terminals has a 21-year port-development concession to design and build deepwater container berths and plans for the multipurpose port include offshore supply operations, the handling and storage of refined products, and general cargo berths.

Nigeria also sees shiprepair as a way to anchor related industries, creating jobs and transferring technical knowhow to its citizens. So far, NLNG says, some 600 Nigerians have trained at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyards in South Korea and with Shell. Closer to home, Bonny Vocational Centre runs courses in welding and other engineering techniques.

BSMEC is a consortium of five Nigerian companies, led by the Sifax Group – which is owned by prominent Lagos businessman Taiwo Afolabi. Pinning down the consortium’s plans is not easy; mooted for some time, the project is said to be aiming for a 2020 launch – although Sifax has declined to provide any details.

A spokesman says it is too early to clarify the project's scale, facilities and timeline. He said: “We have just appointed Damen as project manager and African Finance Corp as financial advisors and are currently integrating them into the project.”

Just as LNG World Shipping was about to go to press, a spokesman for Netherlands-based Damen confirmed the company’s involvement with Badagry Drydock.

“Damen has signed an MOU with BSMEC for developing/designing a shipyard for NLNG vessels,” he said.

ProspectsAs LNG carrier numbers edge towards 500 – and as the LNG-fuelled fleet approaches 200 vessels on the water and on order – demand for LNG-related repairs and maintenance will only rise. What is less certain is whether the Atlantic Basin’s established yards can absorb that demand or whether the industry needs additional capacity.

Speaking at the LNG World Shipping ship-shore interface conference in May, shipbroker SSY’s senior LNG advisor Debbie Turner questioned whether the canal will allocate more than one slot a day to LNG carriers. Handling only a single laden ship slot a day will add up to more than 25 million tonnes of LNG a year, she pointed out, which is almost half the US LNG exports approved so far.

Last year, Atlantic Basin LNG supply fell by 1.1 mta, according to GIIGNL’s latest report. New volumes are coming ex-US but it will take until the end of the decade, at the very least, to gauge the impact on Atlantic Basin trade volumes of the expanded Panama Canal and of US export cargoes.

And although the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) hints that it may reserve a second daily slot for large gas carriers, this is not yet confirmed – and it is too early to predict what the take-up may be.

Despite all these unresolved questions, Mr de Gannes remains bullish about the prospects for regional shiprepair demand. “The near-term future for new shipyard development in the western hemisphere is bright,” he concludes, “especially for those that have the required design, spare capacity and capability to handle larger LNG carriers.” LNG

BELOW: Badagry Dockyard aims to repair LNG carriers for Nigeria LNG, Bonny Gas Transport and others

Nigeria’s BSMEC-backed Badagry Dockyard Project is scheduled to launch in 2020

LNG carrier lifecycle maintenance supplement ANALYSIS | 7


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SKF and Rolls-Royce unveil condition-based maintenance servicesShip intelligence is moving closer to reality as companies unveil their latest condition-based maintenance solutions at the Posidonia exhibition in Athens. Martyn Wingrove reports

S KF Marine has introduced a new condition monitoring route kit that will enable ship operators,

managers and owners to extend the life of machinery and components. SKF Marine chief executive Martin Johannsmann says the Swedish company is heading towards more condition-based monitoring and predictive maintenance for onboard equipment.

“We have developed new software for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance that is running on our recently developed cloud solution,” he told LNG World Shipping sister magazine Marine Electronics & Communications. “We are a front runner for condition-based maintenance and performance monitoring. The maritime industry is ready for doing this.”

His colleague, marine business development manager Anders Welin says the system will help owners to optimise maintenance, reduce the risk of failure and lower maintenance costs. “Sensors are connected to equipment, and handheld devices read the data, which is then uploaded to the cloud, so several users can access the data,” he said.

SKF then compares the performance of

machinery against its own models to identify if there are any issues with the condition.

Rolls-Royce has introduced a commercial health-management solution for various vessels following several months of tests and pilots. Rolls-Royce senior vice president for marine services Jay McFadyen says the health management solution is ready for commercial launch.

His colleague, general manager for

these solutions Marco Camporeale, said the service will provide 24/7 technical support and access to remote networks of troubleshooting engineers. He said the service involves monitoring of components across the Rolls-Royce fleet, analysis of the data, diagnosis of issues and advice on how ship operators should respond.

“We use the modelling to diagnose and detect issues, create notifications and a strategy to intervene,” he said.

LNG carrier lifecycle maintenance supplement NEWS | 9

SKF has developed a condition-monitoring route kit for ship machinery

Digitisation of vessels and fleets will be the main driver of innovation and business in shipping for the next 10 years, according to class society DNV GL, writes Martyn Wingrove. It predicts further deployment of sensors across fleets of ships, greater levels of remote internet connectivity and developments in data analytics in the future.

DNV GL principal researcher, group leader for energy efficiency and fuels Christos Chryssakis expects all classed ships to be connected to broadband communications over satellite within five years. He said this is enabling increasing numbers of ships to be connected to remote diagnostics services.

“We will have control centres for fleets of vessels and the information will improve operational efficiencies,” he said. “This

can help us move towards more remote monitoring, diagnostics and operations. Digitisation is one of the biggest drivers.”

He predicted that complete vessel management systems will be run by software, which means assuring the reliability and robustness of software will become increasingly important. Digitisation will also lead to more onboard automation and autonomous operations.

Other technical drivers that DNV GL predicted included: condition-based maintenance and inspection replacing periodic maintenance of machinery, and development of the digital twin of ships for technical lifecycle management and further design improvements. These predictions were within DNV GL’s Technology Outlook 2025. LNG

Digitisation drives future shipping innovation





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PROPOSED


WHAT WILL PUSH LNG SHIPPING TOWARDS CONDITION-BASED MAINTENANCE?Exmar technical superintendent Kjell Wouters

I’ve been involved in implementing condition-based maintenance (CBM) on board the Exmar Shipmanagement (ESM) LNG fleet since it started, in 2012. From the client side, what will push LNG shipping towards CBM is its need for absolute reliability.

In the case of floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), continuous

operation is the priority, as many are permanently berthed on location. A breakdown can cause trouble for the client, in serving energy suppliers, power stations and so on.

Cost effectiveness is of course an additional driver for CBM; reliability goes hand-in-hand with reducing the overall operating expenditure.

I was involved in the first pilot projects on board two LNG FSRUs, one in Kuwait and another in Bahia Blanca, Argentina in 2012. We tried

out two candidate suppliers over a six-month period on each vessel to test instrument effectiveness and quality of data reporting, selected the most suitable provider and then set out a budget with the owners to implement CBM across the fleet.

Rather than allow that supplier on board to gather data, we purchased the equipment ourselves and trained our crew to make the measurements, then emailed the data to the supplier, deploying a third engineer on every vessel to train his colleagues.

We rolled out the CBM programme across the fleet of 10 LNG regasification vessels and carriers in 2013-2014. We were able to reduce the number of incidents that occurred shortly after a scheduled overhaul or replacement of equipment, where the equipment itself did not require any handling.

By monitoring the equipment at the right time, we could continue to operate it for a given period rather than perform an unnecessary overhaul, saving time and money. It has also allowed our crew to focus on improving operations for our client in other areas on board.

By monitoring the equipment in this way, we have also prevented many failures – by fixing a loose coupling or bearing before it breaks down.

One of our biggest challenges rolling out the CBM programme was to get initial buy-in from our crew. With so many years of experience on board these LNG vessels, our seafarers were accustomed to resolving technical issues that they had detected using sound, temperature change or changes in the vessel’s operational behaviour.

We were able to demonstrate that analysing and measuring the data would benefit everyone, and this was due in part to the supplier, which made no errors during the two-year roll-out in identifying whether or not to repair or replace a piece of equipment. This helped us to convince our engineers that we could save them time – using facts rather than arguments.

GE Marine Solutions president and chief executive Tim Schweikert

CBM aims to break the periodic maintenance cycle and to perform maintenance only when it is required. It is an


LNG carrier lifecycle maintenance supplement OPINION | 13

alternative approach to planned routine maintenance, which can be implemented in such a conservative manner that parts are replaced long before they reach their end of useful life, and can fail to anticipate unexpected, early life failures, which can halt operations.

Modern software analytics is beginning to deliver the promise of CBM. At GE, we use SmartSignal analytics to predict the future condition of assets, allowing companies to monitor vessels in real-time, to record and analyse the history of their operations and maintenance activities and to search for anomalies.

SmartSignal can give early warnings when an asset is exhibiting off-standard behaviour, identifying problems before they occur – which can help to defer maintenance. The reduced downtime for an LNG carrier translates into significant savings in unplanned dry docking and can bring in revenue streams.

Despite the benefits of CBM, it also encounters challenges for implementation.

Access to data is the key enabler for CBM. However, one crucial challenge that the industry must address before data can reach its full potential is the continued collection of data in silos.

Key stakeholders – vessel charterers, owners, operators and builders – can create levels of complexity when it comes to data sharing. Now, each party possesses its own data. Reluctance to share data and ambiguity in ownership present a barrier to realising the benefits of the digitalisation of the industry.

In data analytics, by going alone, you are going nowhere. That is why GE is collaborating with major players and why GE’s SmartSignal has been designed to be open source – it can run analytics on energy assets, whether or not these are GE equipment – to break down silos and demonstrate that collaboration can drive improved outcomes across industries for years to come.

Gaining insights to initiate CBM is another challenge that

requires enhanced computing capability. Vast resources are needed to store, harmonise and analyse the data, which, in turn, requires immense investment, software expertise and deep knowledge of the sector.

GE employs more than 1,200 software engineers to help the industry embrace the digital transformation and harness the power of data. GE has also created Predix, the world’s first cloud-based platform for industrial application, to act as a nerve centre for software development and to provide powerful, consistent and secure support for the solutions.

One way in which the LNG industry differs from other marine sectors is that vessels generally follow the same route and share highly similar profiles. The digital solution that enables CBM will not require a high level of customisation, meaning its practice and benefit are highly repeatable and scalable across the fleet.

In the marine industry, maintenance management through condition monitoring

and diagnostics is relatively immature in comparison with, for example, the manufacturing industry. The marine industry is risk-averse and customers want to be reassured before implementing the solution.

However, our customers recognise the value of CBM and digital solutions in general. We are working with early technology adopters to apply our digital solutions in the real world. Once the value is demonstrated, the solution can be quickly applied to a large volume of ships, driving improved outcomes across LNG shipping for years to come.

InterManager secretary-general Kuba Szymanski

First, let’s talk about floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs). The majority of InterManager members who have FSRUs do have condition-based maintenance on board.

That’s logical. A traditional

Exmar technical superintendent Kjell Wouters

GE Marine Solutions president and chief executive Tim Schweikert

InterManager secretary-general Kuba Szymanski

Wärtsilä general manager service agreements Tage Klockars


14 | OPINION LNG carrier lifecycle maintenance supplement

shipping approach would repair equipment when time-based overhaul (TBO) calls for it – but when you have an FSRU, a breakdown is the last thing you want.

In order to prevent this, condition-based maintenance should be standard practice rather than a matter of waiting until time comes to carry out maintenance.

Let’s not be too hasty though, condition-based maintenance is quite complicated and the capabilities to do it

effectively can be tricky to execute. Many of the maintenance plans written by manufacturers are based upon the worst-case scenario and not necessarily for a marine environment, therefore there may be a considerable amount of slack in the TBOs if run under optimum conditions or run infrequently. This would be one of the main benefits of a condition-based maintenance plan.

We must be aware that owners seem to be working to short time scales, and condition-

based maintenance just cannot deliver on a short-term basis.

The main engine manufacturers are regularly offering advice concerning extending the TBO for main components. Generally they will maintain the nominal overhaul interval in their maintenance plan, but provide recommendations for additional inspection that may allow the TBO to be extended.

There is always a sentence in these plans indicating that overhaul intervals may be reduced or extended based on operating conditions and the results of physical inspection – which is essentially condition-based maintenance.

Only for FSRUs – for which stoppages cost a lot of money – is condition-based maintenance being considered. Members of InterManager perform a lot of condition-based monitoring already,

although this is sometimes forgotten, including:• Bunker analysis• Lube oil analysis• Cylinder oil scrap-down

analysis• Boiler and freshwater analysis• Engine performance analysis

(snapshot and in real time)• Shock pulse/vibration

analysis• Physical inspection/

measurement• Bearing temperature

monitoring• Impressed current cathodic

protection and marine growth protection system

• Logging/review• Hull stress analysis• Containment system (IS and

integrated bridge system) monitoring

• Insulation testing.Based upon the

maintenance package agreed with the engine maker, they can carry out performance analysis

Clustering maintenance in a smart way reduces vessels’ down times over a longer period. N-Kom

“Owners seem to be working to short time scales, and condition-based maintenance just cannot deliver on a short-term basis”


Competitive and Reliable

Conversion to

Battery / Hybrid

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Battery / Plug-in Hybrid

Fiskerstrand Verft AS, Risevegen 23, N-6035 Fiskarstrand, Phone: +47 70 19 93 00 [email protected] - www.fiskerstrand.no

Gas mechanical

Docking • Repairs • Maintenance • Conversion • Shipbuilding

Biodiesel Plug-in Hybrid

Meet us at SMM stand no. 219 Hall B2

High T/C Levels? Minimize your time in yard for Special Surveys

Repair WBT coatings on voyage prior to SS Prepare for CAP surveys; - easier CAP 1 and

2 ratings Keep yard stays to a minimum

www.msi.no — [email protected] — T (47) 64 93 30 03

The “Voyage Repair” Specialists

Ballast Tank Upgrades Coating Inspectors Deck Upgrades Steel Inspectors Hull / Superstructure UHP Blasting Brazil Spray painting Norway Marine Scaffolding Singapore Steel repairs Gdynia SPS Overlay Nigeria

in real time or companies can provide them with recordings at agreed intervals. Therefore it should be reasonably simple to implement a condition-based maintenance plan with this level of monitoring.

There is quite an involved administrative process managing the condition-based maintenance plan. However, this should be offset by reduced unnecessary maintenance and fewer equipment failures.

Wärtsilä general manager service agreements Tage Klockars

Wärtsilä has condition-based maintenance (CBM) service agreements with 11 or 12 LNG carrier owners that cover some 70 LNG carriers. Companies that use our CBM technology include Dynagas, Bonny Gas, Maran Gas and GasLog. We plan their maintenance planning, co-ordinate parts and manpower and everything relating to that.

We cluster maintenance in a smart way to reduce vessels’ down-times over a longer period. These vessels have four or five engines on board and we aim to perform maintenance while they are at sea, rather than forcing a stoppage, to reduce time spent drydocking. CBM allows us to introduce remote troubleshooting on demand.

The challenge is to persuade LNG shipowners of the benefits of CBM. These sophisticated ships incorporate a high level of new technology and software, and because gas is a relatively clean fuel, LNG carriers suffer less wear and tear than vessels using heavy fuel oil. Our strategy to grow this business has been to secure classification society approval for our CBM concept – notably with DNV GL, ABS and RINA.

Rather than do everything

according to the manual we extend the timeframes – doing less work on board, or postponing certain maintenance requirements to bring cashflow benefits to the owner – which means less work, less hassle and more co-ordination.

The important thing, we feel, is that this is a class-approved system. This is a competitive field – but very few players have secured that approval.

Time is of the essence and the faster we can offer that support, the better. These systems detect problems and our customers are able to call us 24 hours a day to speak to a specialist who can solve the operational issue.

Data makes a lot of things possible; we are analysing and benchmarking ships’ data. We are also monitoring the condition of 75 thrusters to match their maintenance to charterer requirements – using CBM to fit around the customer’s needs, reducing major stoppages or extending the maintenance interval.

The fact that LNG carriers are expensive and technically advanced is an enabler for condition-based maintenance. We have achieved a success rate of some 88 per cent with our LNG customers, in terms of extending for another year the deadline for major maintenance.

We can also step in to prevent stoppages when problems occur. In one case, off West Africa, our remote systems detected that a GasLog LNG carrier newbuilding had a problem with its software systems that prevented the ship’s engines operating in gas mode.

The crew needed help to identify the malfunction and to correct the settings. Our remote-support specialist logged in to the vessel’s control system and analysed the equipment’s performance.

The specialist worked

with the on-board service engineer and crew to identify incorrect settings, which prevented the ship having to return to shore and to pump back its gas, which would have cost a lot of money. We had to fix the problem quickly – and did so within eight hours.

In proving that our customers can avoid major capital ingress in this way, we expect CBM demand to grow. However, we have also put together what we call the Wärtsilä Genius services team to look more closely at ship efficiency, combining this with CBM.

Over time, the efficiency of engines or of propulsion goes down – it takes more fuel to maintain sailing speeds. So now, we are looking also at efficiency-based maintenance, developing data to predict when it is most feasible, economically, to resolve these

issues, which means developing smarter analytics tools.

There’s a lot of talk about real-time data – about streaming data live from the ship. But with CBM and efficiency-prediction tools, you eliminate the need to super-stream live data. We can use duplicate screens on shore, or cloud-based systems, to eliminate large transfers of information.

We are testing this on one LNG carrier at the moment, using the system to measure propulsion efficiency using a meter on the propeller shaft to measure torque and thrust. The back office is monitoring this with its analytics tools.

How much data you have, how much you need to make the correct decisions – these are two very different things. Our asset-performance optimisation team is working on this and we hope to launch globally later this year. LNG

“The fact that LNG carriers are expensive and technically advanced is an enabler for condition-based maintenance”

CBM and efficiency prediction tools eliminate the need to super-stream live data


16 | OPINION LNG carrier lifecycle maintenance supplement

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Senior & C-LevelManagement

CommercialAudience

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SHOWFLOOR IS 80%SOLD & RESERVED

To discuss your participation please email [email protected] or

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TechnicalAudience

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Exhibit in your sector of expertiseShipping & Marine Engineering

Diamond Sponsor:Hosted by：

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Organised by:

GT17 lngws3 shipping & marine advert v1.indd 1 07/07/2016 11:59

Strategically located in the heart of the Arabian Gulf, Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) provides a wide spectrum of repair, fabrication, maintenance and conversion services across the maritime as well as oil & gas chain. The yard’s growing track record for safe, efficient and high quality services includes the successful turnaround of gas carries, tankers, bulk carriers, contain-ers, jack-up rigs and a variety of other vessels.

Preferred Shipyard Delivering Solutions

Ship repair & conversion Construction & repair of offshore structures

Gas & Green Shipping Solutions Mobile repair squad

Drydock 1360m x 66m x 11m (350,000dwt)

Drydock 2400m x 80m x 12m (450,000dwt)

Floating Dock (Q-Max size)405m x 66m, Lifting Capacity: 120,000T

Cranes (15 nos.)8 x 30T, 3 x 50T, 4 x 100T

Berthage8 quays and piers of 3,000m & 1 loading quay of 150m

Mobile Hoists300T & 1,100T

Services Offered

T: +974 4419 7300 F: +974 4419 7301 [email protected] www.nkom.com.qa State of Qatar

lng carrier lifecycle maintenance 2016

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